Monday, February 27, 2006

Maureen Dowd, Eat Your Heart Out

Today on Meet the Press it was Meet the Republicans, as Russert's well-rounded lineup included Republican Senator John Warner, Republican Congressman Peter King and Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Perhaps the phone lines are down on the other side of the political divide...

Thirty minutes of airtime that had absolutely no journalistic purpose whatsoever -- just Tim kicking back with his good buddy Arnold.

Indeed, the segment gave me an idea: Why doesn't Tim just do a spin-off show and maybe call it, "Meet My Friends, Cronies, and Business Associates." Then he could have on all his friends, like Arnold, and people his son is in business with, like James Carville. And then Tim would be relieved of even having to go through the pretense of "hard-hitting journalism." They could talk sports, yuck it up and tell old drinking stories.

Before we get into substance -- actually this is no less substantive than the interview -- I must ask: what's with the hair? On both of them. Arnold's appears to be turning a strange shade of orange, as if he's perhaps acquired not just the charming flirting techniques but the actual hair of Strom Thurmond. And Tim's just seems to be getting darker. Or perhaps it's just my mood as I watch the show every week. Fair warning: Russert Watch will be tracking these important developments in the future...

If there's one thing that can distract from the travesty of journalism Meet the Press was today, it's being forced to think about Tim's abs. I wish I knew how to quit that image.